Red Sox Acquire Hermida From Cost-Conscious Fish

Right fielder Jeremy Hermida priced himself out of the Marlins’ budget, so Florida traded its 2002 first-round pick to the Red Sox for a pair of minor league lefthanders in Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez. Hermida slugged .501 with 18 home runs in 2007, his first taste of regular play, but he’s gone backward in the two seasons since—as he nears his physical prime. A lefthanded batter, he owes a big part of the regression to a .237/.321/.376 showing against big league lefthanders.

Marlins Acquire

Hunter Jones, lhp

Age: 25.

Born: Jan. 10, 1984 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Ht.: 6-4. Wt.: 235. Bats: L. Throws: L.

School: Florida State.

Career Transactions: Signed as nondrafted free agent by Red Sox, July 23, 2005.

Club (League)

Class

W

L

ERA

G

GS

SV

IP

H

R

ER

HR

BB

SO

WHIP

Pawtucket (IL)

AAA

4

3

4.25

36

0

2

53

45

27

25

7

24

39

1.30

Boston (AL)

MLB

0

0

9.24

11

0

0

12.2

16

13

13

3

7

9

1.82

David Hunter Jones was on the Red Sox’ 40-man roster and made his big league debut April 20. He pitched in 11 big league games and seems to be limited by his current repertoire to being a left-on-left specialist. Jones is big-bodied, but he’s not a power pitcher. Instead he uses a fastball that ranges anywhere from 84-88 mph to complement his best pitch, a tight curveball. He can vary the break and velocity on the pitch, and it’s quite effective against lefthanded hitters, who hit .200 off him in the big leagues and .205 at Triple-A. However, righthanded hitters see him better, and his lack of a quality changeup leaves him reliant on fastball command to attack them. Righthanded hitters slugged .427 off him at Pawtucket and .364 in the majors, with eight home runs allowed combined

Jose Alvarez, lhp

Age: 20.

Born: May 6, 1989 in Barcelona, Venezuela.

Ht.: 5-11. Wt.: 150. Bats: L. Throws: L.

Career Transactions: Signed as nondrafted free agent by Red Sox, July 2, 2005.

Club (League)

Class

W

L

ERA

G

GS

SV

IP

H

R

ER

HR

BB

SO

WHIP

Salem (CAR)

HiA

1

1

4.74

12

0

0

24.2

32

15

13

1

6

1

1.54

Lowell (NYP)

SS

8

3

1.52

14

12

0

83

60

17

14

4

10

63

0.84

Totals

9

4

2.26

26

12

0

107.2

92

32

27

5

16

74

1.00

Alvarez had an outstanding season at short-season Lowell, after starting the year getting his feet wet as a reliever at high Class A Salem. Alvarez throws three pitches for strikes when he’s going well, with an upper-80s fastball that he uses effectively to both sides of the plate. His slurvy breaking ball doesn’t impress scouts as more than an average pitch, though it has decent velocity, but his changeup does and grades out as his best pitch. The Venezuelan lacks significant projection in his 5-foot-11 frame, though he’s bigger than his listed 150 pounds.